While Gotham sleeps
by Wafflesn'Brains
Summary: [This is my one-Millionth attempt at this story] After Selina finds herself trying to keep Bruce on the face of earth; she wonders if this is all her fault. *Rated T because of some strong language* Based after the events of TDKR.


While Gotham's in needed slumber, still shaking from the catastrophic boom that lit the horizon just a few hours ago; a light that seemed to sit on Selina's shoulders like a heavy burden.

She wanted to cry, but through her time of dilution, valor and tolerance; it was impossible.

Sat atop the streets watching the solemn souls return to their homes, children in arms, partners in hand. They mourn together.

Taking a deep stinging breath as the ice cool air stabbed her chest; a familiar figure looms ankle deep in snow below her, John Blake. Watching as he trumped through the snow soon disappeared from sight. Selina could almost see his pain, he had lost a friend, and she had lost a chance. All that he left was the hollow foot prints in the snow.

Sliding the stiff window open to her apartment she looks back at the city; the smoke spitting from the buildings had come to a halt, the sky was beginning to darken and the street lights flickered on for the first time, in what seemed like forever.

Gotham awakes.

The ghostly apartment was dusty and a strong smell of gasoline and burnt out cigarettes loomed the walls. Kicking off her stiletto boots and ripping off her mask flinging them behind her carelessly, she slips her fingers into her belt and pulls out the tiny data stick Bruce had given her; the clean slate. It hits her for a second, _would it make a difference?_ Her original plan was to hit and run, but things had changed erratically since then. Fiddling the stick in her hand, she promptly sets it aside.

_No... It won't. _

Wiping the settled mist from her mirror, Selina gazes at the pale face staring back at her atop from the grey tired eyes and chapped split lips- the cherry red lipstick hides all. The bathroom lights flicker for a second, with a rush of panic, she scrambles to grab a hand gun from the cabinet draw, which she keeps in close possession at all times. A loud thump sounded from behind the walls- exiting the bathroom, the gun held close she takes a swift turn and aims the gun into the dark of her bedroom- "Who's there?"

Something shifted in the dark, then a grunt. "I'll shoot." She promised, still holding the gun.

"Selina..." The stranger gapes.

She steps closer realizing there's droplets of blood trailing the floor, the bedside lamp alights; sending Selina stumbling back.

He leaned limply on the wall to keep himself standing; his armour was torn and peeling away revealing burns and gashes across his body. Although his mask remained in one piece.

The gun fell from her fingers and recoiled across the floor.

"Bruce."

Almost as he was to collapse to ruin on the floor in a huff, she caught him.

"You're fast." He winced.

"I need to be. " She said, studying the raw gashes and deep stab punctures across his body. "-You need medical. Now." Lowering him to the floor trying not to press on his open wounds, he peers up at her through the mask; "Fox." He swallowed painfully, trying to stay conscious as his sore body fell limp at his shoulders- "Fox has a medical unit." Her attention turned to the open window, then to the fact that the darkened skies had started to snow. To flush away the blood.

"We won't make it to the bridge; **you** won't make it to the bridge. I need to stop the bleeding." In his insomniac state, you could say he lost reality for a while. He could feel her seal the exposed wounds with rapid hands, she took hold of him and started shaking him by the shoulders; Stay with me she'd scream, all he could make out were washed-out shrieks and cries- she tore off his mask heaving it across the threshold of the floor; his raw skin stung as the warm air slaps it.

Anxiety floods over her, he isn't even here- all he gave her was a glassy eyed stare through swollen flesh and black bruises. "Bruce...?" No response, just fragile wheezing breaths.

Pulling his utility belt from the scattered shreds of amour, she drops a finger length communicator from one of the pockets and scrolls through the contacts on the tiny screen- Fox, enter.

Static cracks and fizz sound from the other line until...

"Bruce?"

"Fox." She broke in, "It's Kyle, I have him." She tried to hide the heavy sound of disarray in her voice.

"Is he-"

"Barely."

"Where are you?"

"Old town, my apartment. He's fading."

"I'll be there in three minutes, keep him stable. I'll bring someone."

The line snapped dead.

She crawled back to the frail body crumpled against her bedroom wall; "He's coming, just... Stay with me, listen to my voice."

Every minute felt like a goddamn lifetime, his pulse fell to twenty five, then twenty, then ten.

Along with, fell her hopes.

The painful silence broke as her door burst open with the sound of rushed footsteps- Fox stepped in scanning the room, first noticing the scattered amour shreds stained with blood; "Selina?"

"Dammit Fox, get in here; he's not breathing!"

He threw his briefcase atop a dusty counter and snapped it open to pull out a cardiac needle; "I need an open chest, and him laid out flat." Selina hauled Bruce onto his back as Fox knelt over stabbing the cool needle into his ribs. Selina glared up at him; "I thought you were bringing a damn doctor, Fox." He ignored Selina, rolling up the sleeves of his white stained shirt- "He's going into cardiac arrest; I need you to grab the respirator from my case."

"Since when are you a doctor?" She probed, Fox peered back at her, seeing the uneasiness in her glance made him rethink his original response evolving a little more annoyance, but it seems this man at his fallback, is something to this cat-burglar - "I'm here to make sure he's alive by the time we get him to the bridge, the medics are setting up for major surgery, which he needs." He placed a steady hand on her shoulder- "I promise, he'll still be here by tomorrow. But for now. I need that respirator."

I am Will-o'-the-Wisp.  
I float in a little pool of delirium,  
Phosphorescent velvet.  
My fire is like a breath  
that blows my illness in circles,  
widening it so far  
that I cannot see the edge.  
It is one with the night sky.  
My fire has blown this vastness,  
but I strain and flicker trying to escape from it.  
I want to exist without the darkness  
that makes my breath so bright.  
I want the morning to thin my light.

By: Evelyn Scott (1893-1963)

**Wayne Applied Sciences Department- 3:00am**

He felt his body being placed on cool steel surface, the presence of many rethinking minds- "He's on what would be a last resort." He heard briefly. His entire core felt as if it had been mauled and decapitated, warm blood pooled around him as many gloved hands poke and prod his scars, old and new.

The table shook as they tried to bring him back, on and off, on and off- "Clear!" Nothing, he felt nothing. Gloved hands slip into his open chest; they massage his heart, hell still nothing.

"Somebody grab me another goddamn cardiac needle, we're losing him!"

Selina can hear the commotion from outside the OR, hours have passed; they've must of brought him back over five times now, he's slipping- she can still see the look on his face;

_You could have gone anywhere, done anything... but you came back here._

_So did you._

"Shit! Princeton, boost him again!"

Frustration boils in her gut, they're killing him- he's been through so much. Just let him sleep.

He's just one man, can take the same as any other man- "He's stable, somebody keep it that way!"

Selina swallowed hard as a few surgeons exited the room, red faced and red stained- they confront her snapping off they're masks; "He's finally stable, he was..." He cleared his throat- "Through the operation, he wasn't quite out; we think he's slightly immune to the tranquilizer we gave him; because he was asking for you through the whole thing." Selina terraced awkwardly; "What do you mean?"

The surgeon sighed and opened the room door for her- "He wants you to be there, Fox requested we transport him to another location for recovery, here is not the safest place anymore, even for a dead man."

She could have at the least snapped his shoulder for his reference to a dead man, but he's right. Bruce isn't safe here anymore.

With a nod, the weary surgeons left her at the door foot of the OR, it was dim lit apart from the blinding light shining over the lone man lying on the table, and her heart throbbed in her tiny chest as she got closer.

Liberation poured over her as his chest rose and fell, his skin had found some colour- she found a seat beside his monitors, which flickered and beeped measuring every movement, every contraction.

"The surgeon said you wanted me." She broke the hard quiet.

"But I need to ask...

Why?"

Tears flustered her speech, "I shouldn't have left that night, I should have stayed, and you needed me."

"And here you are."

Selina looked up to see him pondering a content grin- the bastard was smiling.

"You... asshole." She crumpled into a tearful mess- "You..." he hugged his frail arms around her shuddering body, softly shushing her; "It wasn't you're fault, it was never you're fault."

"You died, six times today. And you can't say one of them was my fault."

"No, it was the twats who were stabbing me with the damn scalpels."

She snickered against his chest; "Looks like you haven't lost your impractical sense of humour"

"Just a bit of blood and a little shame."

Sitting up, she fondled her fingers across his face- "You look like hell, get some rest."

"I was wondering how someone did it..."

"Did what?" She stood up; heedlessly straightening her shirt- he smiled; "Get so little sleep and still look so good."

"Go to hell."

"Can't say I haven't already."

"Sleep." She pulled a blanket over top his stitched, patched body- "You need it."

He caught her gaze before she departed from the bedside; "Wait." He bit his lip; Selina gave him an apprehensive glare.

"We never finished that kiss."

She sighed, and tried to ignore the mobbed thoughts filling her shattered head;

"Goodnight Bruce..."

"Selina."

The door clicks behind her as she leans on the nearest wall, _God Dammit Selina, you're a bitch, you know that? You saw his face. He's fought two damn wars today, it's the least you could do. _

Bruce winces as he tries to place himself in a restful position, preferably one that won't tear his stitches. The OR door opens again as a familiar silhouette runs in, she kneels down parallel to him, he can smell the dry tears on her cheeks; "I'm sorry Bruce... I'm so sorry..."

Trying to pull his arm from the entanglement of wires and tubes he brings her lips to his gently embracing- "Can you stay in here with me tonight...?"

"Okay..." She leers- pulling him away, "I don't think we should do this." He shifts painfully; "Me neither..."

Selina pecks his forehead, stroking a tangled tuft of hair from his face- "Sleep. I'll be here."

**Over the Atlantic Ocean- 7:00am **

Serene Slumber was unfortunately disturbed by the lurid sound of engines- She awoke in what seemed like a jet; an upscale jet. Bruce was still at her side, but didn't seem bothered by the thunderous roar of machinery; either that or they've put him in a comatose for the flight. Or last-night was a dream, he's still gone.

A broadcast blared through the vehicle's chambers; it was Fox- "Are we ready for departure?"

Another channel buzzed from an external radio; "Yes, you may depart sir."

The jet commenced creeping forward; Selina stood up, gripping the chamber walls- "Shit..." As the speed accelerated, the view outside the dull concrete environment faded, as they entered sun rise of a new Gotham day.

She wished Bruce could see the sun kiss the looming buildings one more time, see all his pain had paid off, Gotham's awake- But not it's crusader; who's body is degrading by the hour.

A slide door opened as Fox stepped in, "Alright, now we're airborne I can tell you where our destination is." He pulled a rolled map from his trouser pockets and spread it open at their feet.

"Hell Fox, if you need a map to show me where we're going. It can't be a beach house in Maui."

"I'm afraid not Ms. Kyle, we need isolation." He turned his attention back to the map; "We are going to a small coastline island off British Columbia, Bruce and I planned out if a similar event happened, we'd have a place to go."

Selina swallowed peering over to Bruce hooked up to the masses of cables and tubes.

"Fox...?"

"Yes, ?"

"Where was I last night?"

"You stayed with Bruce after the op. Feeling a little dazed are we?"

"But, did he wake up?"

"Not from our readings, he's in a deep comatose state right now."

"Is he going to wake up?" She needed to ask,

Fox shook his head, pinching the skin and cartilage between his eyes- "He's taken a lot in the past twenty four hours, the last thing we expect right now is him waking up."

Picking up the map from the floor and rolling it up tight, Fox patted Selina on the back- "If he does, it would be best if someone was there to greet him."

She nodded, listening to his footsteps echo from the chamber. "Our goal right now is getting him over the ocean without any complications. I'm the only medically trained man on this plane, you press that red button if he starts going into any kind of distress."Fox points to a red button encased above Bruce's monitors- "I'll see you in a few hours."

The sliding door fastened, leaving her the only "down to earth" passenger aboard.


End file.
